Two weeks before he’s slated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump told reporters his spat with China over trade has erupted into a full-blown trade war.

Asked by a reporter if the country would be in a “sustained trade war” with China if he couldn’t come to an agreement with Xi during their meeting in South Korea at the end of the month, the president said: “We’re in one now.”

"We have a 100% tariff," Trump said, referring to the tariffs he's recently threatened China with. "If we didn’t have tariffs, we would be exposed as being a nothing."

On Oct. 14, Trump announced that the U.S. would stop buying cooking oil from China in response to China’s decision to drop America as a supplier of soybeans. Trump said it was an “Economically Hostile Act” in a Truth Social post.

China has been the biggest buyer of American soybeans, according to the American Soybean Association.

China stopped buying American soybeans as a retaliatory measure against U.S. tariffs which Trump imposed in April and instead switched its supply from Argentina and Brazil.

China’s decision to restrict export of rare earth minerals on Oct. 10 triggered a round two of tit-for-tat actions after Trump announced "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of countries in April. A tariff truce had been reached with China in August when triple digit duties were paused for 90 days.

Trump responded to China’s restrictions on rare earth minerals, which are essential for American industry, by saying he’d be imposing 100% tariffs on China starting Nov.1. This would be in addition to the 30% tariffs the U.S. is currently imposing on goods from China.

Between 2020 and 2023, China accounted for 70% of U.S. rare earth imports, which are used in the manufacturing of magnets, electronics and defense systems.

Trump and Xi are expected to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation on Oct. 31 in Seoul, South Korea.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says 'We're in one now' about a trade war with China

Reporting by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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